NEW ORLEANS PELICANS NEWS

Is Zion Williamson playing tonight? Pelicans vs. Trail Blazers time, TV channel and live stream Here is the latest on Zion Williamson's status for Wednesday night's game.

MARCH 1, 2023 • SPORTINGNEWS.COM

New Orleans faces Portland on 4-game skid

New Orleans heads into the matchup against Portland after losing four straight games

MARCH 1, 2023 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Pelicans vs Trail Blazers: Smelling Salts Needed In Rose City The New Orleans Pelicans are taking some punches and need some smelling salts to wake up a squad riding a four-game losing streak.

MARCH 1, 2023 • STAR-TELEGRAM.COM

Pelicans vs Trail Blazers: Smelling Salts Needed In Rose City The New Orleans Pelicans are taking some punches and need some smelling salts to wake up a squad riding a four-game losing streak.

MARCH 1, 2023 • NEWSOBSERVER.COM

Pelicans' Alvarado out 3 weeks, Nance out 2 weeks

New Orleans Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado will be out at least three weeks and forward Larry Nance Jr. will miss two weeks because of recent injuries

MARCH 1, 2023 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Josh Richardson - Questionable with quad contusion Richardson has been diagnosed with a right quad contusion and is questionable Wednesday against the Blazers, Jim Eichenhofer of the Pelicans' official site reports.

Impact The Pelicans are already very thin on the wings, so this obviously isn't ideal. If Richardson is unable to play, Trey Murphy could reemerge with a sizable bump in fantasy value. Naji Marshall also stands to benefit, as he's someone who can play multiple positions.

MARCH 1, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Jonas Valanciunas - Questionable Wednesday Valanciunas (left calf contusion) is questionable Wednesday against the Blazers, Jim Eichenhofer of the Pelicans' official site reports.

Impact This is a tough blow for New Orleans as they already have several key players injured. If Valanciunas is unable to play, both Jaxson Hayes and Willy Hernangomez would make for intriguing streaming options.

MARCH 1, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Zion Williamson - Making good progress Williamson (right hamstring strain) is making good progress and will undergo an MRI next week, ESPN's Andrew Lopez reports.

Impact Williamson hasn't seen the floor since Jan. 2 and suffered a setback Feb. 12. The latest report from the Pelicans is positive, and there should be a better idea of his timetable after his MRI. In the meantime, CJ McCollum and Brandon Ingram will see elevated usage and Josh Richardson will continue to be a big factor in his new role.

FEBRUARY 28, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Jose Alvarado - Sidelined at least three weeks Alvarado will be re-evaluated in three weeks after being diagnosed with a stress reaction in his right tibia.

Impact Alvarado is far from guaranteed to retake the floor after his re-evaluation, but the team will at least measure where he's at when the date approaches. Without Alvarado available off the bench, the Pelicans will have to turn elsewhere for backup point guard duties. Among the options to see some added minutes are Kira Lewis, Dyson Daniels and Garrett Temple, while Josh Richardson could also slide over to point guard and open minutes for others.

FEBRUARY 28, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Larry Nance Jr. - Out at least two weeks Nance (ankle) will be re-evaluated in two weeks, Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated reports.

Impact Nance was helped to the locker room during Saturday's loss to the Knicks, and he was spotted on crutches after the game. Unsurprisingly, he'll be out for an extended period. In his absence, with Zion Williamson (hamstring) also out, Naji Marshall, Herbert Jones, Trey Murphy and Jaxson Hayes are all candidates to see more action.

FEBRUARY 28, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Jaxson Hayes - Takes over as backup center Hayes produced six points (3-4 FG), five rebounds and two steals across 25 minutes in Monday's 101-93 loss to the Magic.

Impact After Larry Nance (ankle) exited early in the Pelicans' previous game Saturday against the Knicks, Willy Hernangomez (nine points, eight rebounds and three steals in 11 minutes) stepped in to fill most of the playing time that was available behind starting center Jonas Valanciunas. Though Nance was sidelined again Monday, head coach Willie Green opted to turn to Hayes as the backup center over Hernangomez, who didn't leave the bench. Because both of the Magic's centers (Wendell Carter and Moritz Wagner) offered some floor-stretching ability, Green may have preferred the more athletic Hayes to chase the opposing bigs around the perimeter, but Hernangomez could be more of a factor when New Orleans matches up with more traditional back-to-the-basket centers. In any event, both Hayes and Hernangomez are likely to find themselves out of the rotation whenever Nance is ready to play again.

FEBRUARY 28, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Herbert Jones - Minutes pick back up Jones played 33 minutes and finished with 10 points (3-9 FG, 1-3 3Pt, 3-4 FT), six rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block in Monday's 101-93 loss to the Magic.

Impact Despite not battling foul trouble in the Pelicans' previous game Saturday against the Knicks, Jones played just 13 minutes in that contest after New Orleans fell into an early first-quarter hole. Fortunately for Jones' fantasy investors, the suppressed minutes weren't the start of a trend, as he returned to his usual level of playing time Monday and delivered in the two defensive categories. Given that Jones is typically a below-average contributor in every other category, it's critical that he continues to receive heavy minutes so that he can produce consistent returns in steals and blocks.

FEBRUARY 28, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

CJ McCollum - Struggles from downtown continue McCollum produced 18 points (8-18 FG, 1-8 3Pt, 1-2 FT), six assists, two rebounds and one steal across 36 minutes in Monday's 101-93 loss to the Magic.

Impact McCollum has been held under 20 points in both of the Pelicans' last two contests, with his 2-for-17 showing from three-point range between those games contributing heavily to the substandard scoring performances. Though in most cases fantasy managers could chalk up the poor showings from downtown as outlier performances, McCollum acknowledged prior to Monday's game that he's continuing to play through a right thumb injury, per Christian Clark of The New Orleans Times-Picayune. McCollum doesn't sound like he's at any immediate risk of missing games because of the injury, but it may take a bit for him to regain his usual shooting touch.

FEBRUARY 28, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Brandon Ingram - Cleans up from free-throw line Ingram finished Monday's 101-93 loss to the Magic with 25 points (8-19 FG, 2-7 3Pt, 7-8 FT), six rebounds and five assists across 38 minutes.

Impact For the fifth game in a row, Ingram failed to produce any defensive statistics, but he delivered the goods in the three main fantasy categories while also shooting efficiently at the free-throw line on heavy volume. Though the Pelicans have dropped five of their last six games to fall under .500 for the season, a healthy Ingram has at least produced well for fantasy managers after missing all of December and most of January with a left big toe injury. Over his nine appearances in February, Ingram finished with fewer than 25 points just once and chipped in 5.0 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.7 three-pointers per contest while shooting 49 percent from the field and 87.7 percent from the charity stripe.

FEBRUARY 28, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Pelicans' season is on the verge of collapsing, and they have their inept offense to thank Even without Zion Williamson, the Pelicans should be much better than this. And coach Willie Green's lineup decisions aren't helping.

FEBRUARY 28, 2023 • THEATHLETIC.COM

Are the Pelicans Getting Willie Green's 'Confidence' Message? Are the New Orleans Pelicans ready to respond to Coach Green’s message and begin a win streak in Portland?

FEBRUARY 28, 2023 • STAR-TELEGRAM.COM

Paolo Banchero leads Magic past Pelicans for season sweep Paolo Banchero scored 29 points and the visiting Orlando Magic defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 101-93 on Monday night.

FEBRUARY 28, 2023 • CHARLOTTEOBSERVER.COM

Banchero scores 29, Magic top Pelicans 101-93

Paolo Banchero capped a 29-point performance with three clutch mid-range jumpers in the closing minutes, and the Orlando Magic defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 101-93

FEBRUARY 28, 2023 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Disappearing Act: Pelicans Hope to Stop Slide with Win Over Magic The New Orleans Pelicans are looking to avoid a season sweep at the hands of the Magic and a fourth consecutive loss.

FEBRUARY 27, 2023 • NEWSOBSERVER.COM